Published : 2025-09-13

On 13th September 1958, the No.1 blast furnace of Wuhan Iron and Steel was completed and put into operation.

Construction of the No.1 blast furnace began on 1st July 1957; the workers overcame all obstacles, and in only 14 months and 13 days, completed what was seen in the eyes of foreigners as an "impossible mission".

And on the day of its completion, Chairman Mao Zedong personally visited the site. He celebrated the commissioning of No.1 Blast Furnace with the more than 20,000 people present, and witnessed first-hand the tapping of the first furnace of molten iron.

Chairman Mao left behind the earnest hope that "the blast furnace not only tempers iron but also tempers people". This furnace of scorching molten iron raised the curtain on China's industrial development.

The No.1 blast furnace had a volume of 1,386 cubic metres, with a daily output of over 2,000 tonnes of pig iron and an annual output of up to 750,000 tonnes.

It was over 500 tonnes higher than the average daily output of the No. 4 blast furnace of the Steel Company of Wales in the UK, which was then known as the "largest blast furnace in Western Europe".

At that time, the production level and technical level of the No.1 blast furnace of Wuhan Iron and Steel were both considered world-class.

On the morning of 14th October 2019, as the last furnace of molten iron slowly flowed out, the No.1 blast furnace was officially shut down, permanently retiring from production.

Since it began production, the No.1 blast furnace of Wuhan Iron and Steel has cumulatively produced 54.26 million tonnes of pig iron, making a huge contribution to the production and development of Wuhan Iron and Steel. It was known as the "Glory Furnace".

After its official shutdown, the blast furnace was preserved as an industrial heritage site, serving as a base for traditional culture education.